Lord

Lord is the ninth rank in the Imperial aristocracy, and the first rank which is allowed to request a Reclaiming. The territory of a Lord is generally on the order of forty to fifty systems, and encompasses two to three full Counties. The full scope of a Lord's territory is referred to as an Arling.

Expectations
The territory of a Lord is considerable, and their wealth is beyond imagining for most. However, their regions and responsibilities are not so vast as to be incomprehensibly difficult to manage - therefore, it is more often Lords than any other rank that call for Reclaimings. A Reclaiming is the Imperial term for a massive, fast-paced militaristic expansion of territory. Generally, the conquering military leaders are given baronetcies and so on in the reclaimed territory, but the Lord who called for the Reclaiming claims most of the glory and a great deal of the economic wealth of the initial pillage.

Lords frequently maintain considerable fleets and private armies, which they are more than happy to lead into battle against enemies of the Empire. Since a Lord has reached the level at which they can be comfortable in their power, it is less common for them to try ladder climbing like the lower ranks do. Instead, they seek fame and notoriety, which is most easily gained through conquest in the name of the Empire, rather than in the name of their own territorial expansion. All Lords are subordinate to a Marquis.